Aside from Matilda, this might be my favorite Roald Dahl read so far. It's creative and fast moving with fun characters and a pretty good middle grade high-stakes situation. This reads a lot like a short story since it is centered mostly on one short period of time, but I still had a great time reading it. I can certainly see it being scary for younger readers, but older middle grade readers will probably enjoy the whimsy. A good start for lovers of dark reads.